The Supper at Emmaus

This work is part of a long series of works of art from the collection of the late Henry Van den Bergh which have found their way to museums through the Art Fund at different periods since 1909, either being presented by himself, or, following his death in 1937, by his heirs.

The Van den Bergh collection not surprisingly, was strong in the work of Dutch artists, particularly of the 19th century.

Nominally inspired by Lucretius' De rerum natura, Piero di Cosimo's The Forest Fire takes its scientific subject and embellishes it with fantastical creatures from the artist's imagination: Bulls, bears, lions and deer-like creatures with human faces all flee wearily from a fire.

Rubens' portrait of Thomas Howard, 2nd Earl of Arundel dates from about 1629. The Earl was a great collector, and Rubens had painted the earl's wife a few years earlier on a visit to Antwerp. This drawing in pen and ink with a chalk base is unusually informal, reflecting perhaps the comfortable relationship between artist and patron.